Category: Philadelphia 76ers Blog

Philadelphia 76ers center Andrew Bynum will continue with conditioning drills as part of a previously announced precautionary measure related to the Orthokine treatment he received on September 15, 2012.

Bynum will also receive a Synvisc injection in his right knee from Dr. David Altchek of the Hospital of Special Surgery on Monday, October 22, 2012. The injection of Synvisc – a natural substance that lubricates and cushions the joint – has been a routine procedure for Bynum during the previous two seasons and is unrelated to the bone bruise of the medial femoral chondyle of his right knee.

Following the injection, Bynum will be examined by Dr. Jack McPhilemy of Main Line Health.

The Philadelphia 76ers announced today that they have waived forward/center Mikki Moore and guard Xavier Silas.  The Sixers roster now stands at 16

Moore (7-0, 225) has appeared in 564 games with 181 starts across NBA 13 seasons, averaging 5.8 points and 3.9 rebounds in 18.2 minutes per game.

Silas (6-5, 205) was an undrafted rookie out of Northern Illinois in 2011.  He originally signed with the Sixers in late April and appeared in the final two regular season games.

The Philadelphia 76ers announced today that Jordan Cohn has been named Pro Personnel Scout.

“We are committed to improving all facets of our basketball operations department and we are happy to announce the addition of Jordan Cohn to the Sixers,” said Sixers General Manager Tony DiLeo. “Jordan is one of the most talented and respected scouts in the NBA and will be an invaluable resource for the upcoming season.”

Cohn will enter his first season as a scout with the Philadelphia 76ers after spending the past eight seasons as a scout for the New Jersey Nets, covering NBA, D-League and college games for the organization.

Prior to joining the Nets, Cohn served as the Director of Pro Player Personnel for the New York Knicks during the 2003-04 season.  That came after a five-season stint with the Miami HEAT where he worked closely with Pat Riley, the rest of the coaching staff and the front office, on various statistical projects.

Cohn is well known for co-authoring “Rick Barry’s Pro Basketball Bible,” an annual trade paperback released during the 1990’s which contained detailed information on every NBA player and draft pick.  During the time he was writing the book, Cohn also created a scouting service that involved charting tendencies of the opponents for numerous NBA teams.  Now commonplace, it was one of the first scouting services of its kind.

A native of New York, Cohn received his undergraduate degree from Harvard College and received his graduate education from USC Law School.  After practicing law for a few years, Cohn became a freelance writer for various publications, including the NBA’s HOOP magazine.

The Philadelphia 76ers announced today they have signed free agent center Mikki Moore in preparation for training camp which begins on Tuesday, October 2 at Saint Joseph’s University’s Hagan Arena.  The Sixers training camp roster now stands at 18.

Moore (7-0, 225) has played 13 seasons in the NBA despite not being selected in the 1998 NBA Draft out of Nebraska.  In 564 games with 181 starts, he has averaged 5.8 points and 3.9 rebounds in 18.2 minutes per game while shooting 55.1% from the floor.  In 2006-07, Moore led the NBA in field goal percentage (.609).

Upon becoming an unrestricted free agent last summer, Young admitted Wednesday to being “shocked” at ending up in Philadelphia.

A phone call and subsequent chat with Doug Collins early in the free agency period gave the Sixers the inside track with Young.

Collins sealed the deal by meeting with Young’s parents a few days later.

“He sat down and talked to my dad and mom. Once my mom started raving about him, it was pretty much a wrap right there,” said Young, smiling.

Young officially signed a one-year, $6 million contract July 12.

— Reported by Tom Moore of Philly Burbs

[Doug] Collins has already said – loosely – that the preliminary plan is to move center Spencer Hawes over to power forward, teaming him early on the floor with Andrew Bynum, who will get the majority of the minutes at center and will be spelled by Kwame Brown.

Collins likes the idea of having Hawes at power forward alongside Bynum, because Hawes is skilled at manning the high post offensively and should let the Sixers take advantage of his ability to hit the elbow jumper (which will give Bynum infinitely more room to operate in the post) and use his ball skills to create more opportunities for players cutting off of him.

Hawes, who has never played power forward for extensive minutes, gave two reasons in a phone conversation earlier this week for why he expects the transition to be relatively seamless.

“I don’t think it’s a huge challenge,” Hawes said. “I’ve guarded the four a lot. Offensively, the way we’ve done it, the four and the five are pretty interchangeable. I don’t think the transition will be overwhelming.”

— Reported by John N. Mitchell of the Philadelphia Inquirer

The Philadelphia 76ers announced today that Senior Vice President of Basketball Operations Tony DiLeo has been promoted to General Manager.

“We are proud to announce that, effective immediately, we have promoted Tony DiLeo to the role of 76ers General Manager and at this time he will work alongside Rod Thorn, who continues his duties as President of Basketball Operations,” said Sixers Owner Josh Harris. “We are very confident that Tony has the experience and knowledge to flourish in his new role, and we will continue to provide him with the necessary tools and resources – including enhancing our capabilities in analytics – to strengthen our basketball operations department.”

“I am very excited about being named General Manager of this organization and look forward to building upon our recent success,” DiLeo said. “I would like to thank Josh Harris and the ownership group for providing me with this opportunity and I will continue to work tirelessly to ensure we put a team that our fans will be proud to support, both this season and in the future.”

DiLeo, who is entering his 23rd season with the 76ers, becomes the team’s 12th General Manager in franchise history. He was promoted to his current position after serving as the team’s senior vice president of basketball operations since September of 2003, following a four-year run as the team’s director of player personnel from 1999 to 2003.

During the 2008-09 season, DiLeo stepped in as head coach following the Sixers 9-14 start and guided the team to a 32-27 mark the rest of the way. Of the eight teams which changed coaches during that season, the Sixers were the only one to make the playoffs.

During DiLeo’s time as senior vice president of basketball operations, he was actively involved in player procurement, including the recent four-team trade that brought Andrew Bynum to Philadelphia. Additionally, his evaluation of amateur and professional talent and supervision of the team’s draft recently produced the likes of Andre Iguodala, Lou Williams, Thaddeus Young, Jrue Holiday, Evan Turner and Lavoy Allen. In addition, DiLeo was instrumental in drafting Allen Iverson and surrounding the future hall-of-famer with the talented roster which produced 56 wins in 2000-01 and captured the Eastern Conference Championship.

Prior to joining the Sixers in 1990-91, DiLeo built his extensive international experience through 10 years of playing and coaching in West Germany. He coached both men’s and women’s teams during that span, winning nine nationals titles in the country’s top division. DiLeo also served as the West German Federation National Coach from 1981 though 1985 and was named the country’s coach of the year in 1987.

In 1984, DiLeo wrote and published the European Basketball Handbook, a guide designed to help acclimate Americans playing overseas. He also has written a manual on rule differences among international basketball, the NBA and the NCAA.